Holder and deliverer for toothpicks and matches.



-Rm M7- 0. M. 5: T. BARTHOLOMEW.

HOLDER AND DELIVEREE FOR TOOTHPIOKS AND MATCHES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY20,1912.

I I Q} I H I Li; Y 'awvmboz 6. M Barf/fo/amcw COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cc.. WASHINGTON, B4 C4 CASSIUS M. BARTHOLOMEW AND THOMAS BARTHOLOMEW, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

HOLDER AND DELIVERER FOB TOOTHPICKS AND MATCHES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GASSIUS M. BAR- THOLOMEW and THOMAS BARTHOLOME\V, citi- Zens of the United States, residing at C0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Holders and Deliverers for Toothpicks and Matches; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and'use the same.

This invention relates to an improved delivering device for tooth-picks, matches or similar articles.

The principal object of the invention is to provide simple and effective means for picking up and delivering a single article with out necessitating the handling of the adjacent articles, which renders the device sanitary and especially adapts it for use in connection with tooth-picks.

Another object is to provide a device of this class, having gripping or clamping jaws for picking up a tooth-pick or match between them and yieldably holding it until it is forcibly withdrawn therefrom, whereby all danger of breakage of the article is avoided, such as often occurs when impaling elements are used.

Another object is to provide simple and efficient means of this class which may be applied to the ordinary paste-board match or tooth-pick box by simply forming a slot in said box.

Another object is to provide an automatic compensating clamp or gripper constructed to slightly expand and contract for gripping and holding tooth-picks or matches of varying diameters.

Another object is to provide a clamp of this class mounted to swing slightly on its pivot to assist it in gripping a tooth-pick or match.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as W111 be more fully de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 20, 1912.

Patented'Aug. 12,1913.

Serial No. 698,536.

scribed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a perspective View of a toothpick holder and deliverer constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3 3 Fig. 2; Fig. 1 is a detail sectional view through the lower end of the plunger taken in a plane at right angles to Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the gripping element.

In the embodiment illustrated, a rectangular holder 1 is shown composed of any suitable material, preferably glass, to permit inspection of the contents, and having laterally extending beveled shoulders 2 on its outer face at its opposite ends for engagement by downwardly and inwardly bent end flanges 3 on the cover 4. This cover 4 is preferably composed of nickel plated sheet metal, but it may be finished in any other desired manner, and is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 5 preferably formed midway between the side edges thereof, the ends of said cover being bent clownwardly and inwardly, as above described, to form the gripping flanges for engaging the receptacle 1.

A post or standard 6 extends upwardly from the upper or outer face of the cover 1 at one side of the slot, preferably midway the ends of the cover. This standard is preferably tubular to render the device light, and is provided with a laterally extending arm 7 here shown arranged near its upper end. This arm, with which a plunger 9 is slidably engaged, is preferably constructed of a plate of sheet metal folded to form a tubular portion 8 on which said plunger is adapted to slide, the ends of said plate being arranged in close proximity to form the arm 7 and the terminals thereof are fixed to the standard 6 by soldering or in any suitable manner.

The plunger 9 is made in the form of a tubular member slotted throughout its length as shown at 10, through which slot the arm 7 projects to permit the plunger to slide on said arm. A cap 11 closes the upper outer end of the plunger and has a coiled spring 12 engaged at one end with its innor face, said spring being arranged in said plunger and engaging at its other end with the upper edge of the tubular portion of the arm 7, whereby the spring exerts its tension to force said plunger normally upward. The arm 7 is of suflicient length to position the plunger directly over the slot 5 in the cover 4 to adapt it to project therethrough when the plunger is lowered against the tension of the spring 12. The lower end of this plunger Qhas its opposite front and rear faces beveled or cut away as shown at 13, for a purpose to be described. This beveling or cutting away forms two oppositely disposed points 1 1 at opposite sides of the plunger which are designed to engage and limit the movement of the gripping element in one direction to be described.

The picking up or gripping element is shown in the form of a spring metal clip 15 constructed of a strip of sheet metal of a width corresponding to the diameter of the plunger 9, or slightly less than said diameter. ;This strip is folded midway its ends to form a bearing for a pivot 16, which secures said clip or gripping member within the plunger at its lower end, said pivot extending transversely through said plunger. The side members of the clip are bent inwardly adjacent the pivot bearing, with their inner faces in contact, and the ends are then offset adjacent said contacting point to space them sufficiently apart to permit the passage of a tooth-pick or match between their free ends and which, being com posed of spring metal, have a tendency to spring inwardly toward each other. One of the side members of this clip has a lateral projection 17 on its inner face spaced from its terminal a suitable or desired distance and which is designed to limit the insertion of the tooth-pick or match between said end members, which form the gripping jaws of the clamping element. This gripping element is pivotally mounted within the plunger with its side edges arranged adjacent the points 14 of the plunger, the cut out or beveled portions of said plunger permitting this clip 15 to swing back and forth on its pivot, which assists the gripping element in locating and picking up a match or tooth-pick when the plunger is depressed sufiiciently to cause said gripping element to extend into the receptable 1 and into contact with the matches or tooth-picks held thereby.

In the use of this device when it is desired to remove a tooth-pick or match from the receptacle 1 the plunger 9 is depressed to cause the gripping element 15 to extend into the receptacle 1 and the spring jaws thereof to engage and grip between them a match or tooth-pick, whichever is contained in the receptacle 1, and on the release of the pressure on the plunger it will automatically move upwardly under the tension of the spring 12 and carry with it the toothpick or match to be delivered and will hold said tooth-pick until forcibly disengaged therefrom, a slight force only being necessary to so disengage it. The mounting of the standard 6 on the cover at is especially advantageous in that it permits the cover with the plunger attached to be removed from the holder proper and thereby facilitates packing and storing of the device for shipping and other purposes.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advan tagcs of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

VVe claim as our invention:

1. An article of the class described comprising a supporting standard having an arm extending laterally therefrom, a spring pressed plunger mounted to slide on said arm, a tweezer-like clamping element mounted in the lower end of said plunger, and means for permitting said element to swing bodily within said plunger in opposite directions on both sides of its fulcrum a predetermined distance.

2. An article of the class described comprising a plate having a longitudinally eX- tending slot therein, means for detachably connecting said plate to a receptacle, a standard mounted on said plate at one side of said slot, a spring pressed plunger mounted to slide on said standard over said slot, the lower end of said plunger being tubular and beveled or cut away on its opposite sides, and a tweezer-like clamping element pivotally mounted in said tubular lower portion of the plunger with the jaws mounted in said tubular lower portion of the In testimony whereof We have hereunto 10 plunger With the jaws thereof projecting set our hands in presence of two subscribing below said plunger, said clamping member Witnesses.

being of a Width substantially the same as GASSIUS M. BARTHOLOMEV that of the plunger and mounted With the broad faces thereof facing the cut-away por- THOMAS BARTHOLOMEW' tions of the plunger, said cut-away portions t Witnesses: permitting said clamping member to swing 1 EDMUND E. TANNER, slightly on its pivot. DORA M. CHENEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

